Tag Archives: iOS

As you might know, this blog is not a “review” blog, so you won’t see a lot of products being touted here. However, PressReader recently contacted me and asked me to review their newspaper app – in fact, it is the largest newspaper and magazine kiosk app for iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows. (Just so you know, they gave me access to a free trial version but I did not receive any compensation for sharing my thoughts on the app nor will I receive anything if you sign up for their services.)

But I must say, this is a fabulous app! I really love it. Through it you have instant access to over 2,300 online newspapers and magazines.

With it you can

sort publications by language or country

establish your own list of favorites

listen to articles using on-demand audio

zoom in/out on articles

determine how long it will take to read an article (good for considering ad purchases)

As I said, I don’t usually (or ever) do reviews but this intrigued me – largely because I have seen the world news announced from somewhere other than the United States. When we lived in India, we saw the world news as just that – the world news. Not as the world news according to what has happened in America.

Now, I love me some United States. I do. I am her biggest fan. Quite possibly ever.

But, ahem.

We Americans tend to be pretty centric when it comes to what we really care about. Please know that I know that we rush to the aid of other countries when they experience disaster – we are some generous folks with our sweat and our dollars. But for the most part, we really aren’t that aware of what is happening around the world. Or at least, the rest of the world.

Today we are consumed with the rescue of the three young ladies in Cleveland. We are grateful they were found. We worry that they will never recover from their experience. We wonder how this could have possibly happened and continued for so long And, we tune out the reality that girls are stolen all over the world. Every day.

Please know that this is in no way meant to diminish the horror of the experience for these young women. But, in the U.S., it is thankfully uncommon to lose your daughter – in other parts of the world, it is far less uncommon.

On the day of the Boston bombings, we gathered around t.v. sets for hours praying that the terrorists would be found. Twenty-four constant hours a day, the news reporters gave us the “breaking news” updates. If an ambulance moved, we knew about it. And believe me, I was near a t.v. almost all day long waiting, hoping for good news.

However, within a few days of the Boston attacks a factory collapsed in Bangladesh with barely a mention on our nightly news. Ultimately, the death toll rose to 800 when the factory caught fire after its collapse. Those workers were busy making clothes, many of which would be sold in American stores, when they died. And most Americans are very likely unaware that it ever happened.

So beyond the obvious benefits of this app – tremendous ease of access all in one place, the ability to watch business trends in other parts of the world, and the ability to easily research an area through local eyes before planning to travel there – there is the chance to become more globally aware of what is happening in the world and to hear different perspectives on those events.